La Jolla, CA - The second seeded UCLA women's water polo team defeated third seeded LMU 8-2 today in the semi-finals of the NCAA Championships. The Bruins advance to the championship game against first seeded Stanford. The championship game will be played tomorrow at 3:00 PM.

The Bruins went up 1-0 in the first period off a 6 on 5 goal from senior Jessica Lopez. Following, Lopez's goal, freshman Kelly Rulon found the back of the net with 2:35 remaining to make it 2-0 UCLA after one period. Senior goalie Jaime Hipp was outstanding in the net, recording five saves and holding LMU scoreless. In the second period, a 6 on 5 goal from senior Ashley Stachowski put the Bruins up 3-0. After LMU answered back to make it 3-1, a breakaway goal from Stachowski made it 4-1 UCLA. Senior Maureen Flanagan rounded out the Bruins scoring effort in the quarter with a goal with 2.9 seconds remaining to make it 5-1 UCLA at half.

In the third period, Rulon's second goal of the game gave the Bruins the 6-1 lead. After LMU scored to make it 6-2, a 6 on 5 goal from junior Natalie Golda would make it 7-2 UCLA going into the final period. The Bruins only score in the fourth period was from Lopez, who scored her second goal of the game on a 6 on 5 opportunity. With just over three minutes remaining freshman goalie Tahlia Kerr replaced Hipp to close out the 8-2 victory for the Bruins.

In the first semi-final game, first seeded Stanford defeated fourth seeded Indiana 13-2 to advance to the championship game.